Dodgers vs. Cardinals

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CATCHER

Dodgers' A.J. Ellis vs. Cardinals' Yadier Molina

Molina is the Cardinals' best hitter and might have made a run at the NL MVP award had he not gotten hurt down the stretch. He's also a master of pitch framing, getting his pitchers a few extra strikes with his understanding of how to fool – er, influence – umpires. Ellis' skills in that facet are far behind Molina's, as is his hitting, but he's not the worst person to have at the plate in important situations. He rarely expands his zone and forces pitchers to throw strikes. Against the young Cardinals pitchers, that might be an exceedingly effective strategy.

FIRST BASE

Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez vs. Cardinals' Matt Adams

Gonzalez is obviously the more proven hitter, but Adams had a solid rookie season, first in part-time duty and then while replacing the injured Allen Craig. He hit 17 homers in just more than 300 plate appearances. Adams is highly susceptible to left-handed pitching, though, and that's where Gonzalez gains his biggest advantage in a playoff series, for he has developed into a nearly platoon-proof player. Defensively, Gonzalez has the edge over the overweight, slow Adams, but it's not like he has been playing great defense recently, either.

SECOND BASE

Dodgers' Mark Ellis vs. Cardinals' Matt Carpenter

Carpenter had an awful NLDS, logging just one hit in 20 plate appearances and striking out six times, but it's hard to ignore his remarkably consistent offensive season. Ellis' skills are not well-suited to hitting second, which he has been doing of late, but he's a capable bottom-of-the-order hitter. His defense in Game 4 of the NLDS was shaky, but he's a steady hand. Carpenter is an average defender.

SHORTSTOP

Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez vs. Cardinals' Pete Kozma

Ramirez had a ridiculous offensive NLDS, and played some surprisingly consistent defense. Kozma is a subpar hitter, and his sometimes-replacement, Daniel Descalso, isn't much better. The Dodgers' chances hinge largely on Ramirez. It's hard to foresee a series loss if he keeps up his slugging, and it's similarly easy to see St. Louis taking a quick series win if he somehow slumps. The more likely occurrence is the former, which is why the Dodgers have the advantage here.

THIRD BASE

Dodgers' Juan Uribe vs. Cardinals' David Freese

A year ago at this time, comparing Freese and Uribe would have elicited lots of laughs, with Freese coming off a 20-homer season with plus defense and Uribe looking like a candidate to be released. But at this moment, it's difficult to argue Uribe's not the better player. He had a Gold Glove-caliber season at third base and hit about as well as Freese, who slumped significantly defensively and saw his slugging percentage drop nearly 100 points.

LEFT FIELD

Dodgers' Carl Crawford vs. Cardinals' Matt Holliday

The underappreciated Holliday has had some bad playoff experiences at Dodger Stadium, but he remains a power threat in every plate appearance and gives away few at-bats. Crawford is the first to admit he didn't have a great regular season, battling an assortment of injuries, but he turned it on in September. His three NLDS homers were crucial, and people seem to have forgotten how good of a defender he was in Tampa Bay.

CENTER FIELD

Dodgers' Skip Schumaker vs. Cardinals' Jon Jay

Jay is no world-beater in the outfield, but he gets good jumps and has the athleticism to play the position capably. He also gets on base at a .356 clip for his career. Schumaker, a longtime Cardinal, has the instincts for center field but not the abilities. The Dodgers' chances in this series might hinge on getting Andre Ethier back before it's too late. Until then, Schumaker needs to play over his head or the Dodgers need to consider other options.

RIGHT FIELD

Dodgers' Yasiel Puig vs. Cardinals' Carlos Beltran

Beltran, 36, is the best postseason performer of this generation. The .944 OPS he posted in the NLDS was the second-worst in any playoff series of his career. Puig, 22, just played his first playoff series but casually reached base in half his plate appearances and played altogether solid defense. How to handicap this one? It's difficult, and if one of these guys vastly outplays the other one, expect his team to gain a significant advantage.

GAME 1/5 STARTER

Dodgers' Zack Greinke vs. Cardinals' Joe Kelly

Kelly didn't get the hype other young starters around baseball did this season, perhaps because he didn't start the season in the rotation and perhaps because he's a little older than most of them at 25 – three months younger than Clayton Kershaw. But he posted a 2.69 ERA in 124 major league innings and is clearly better than for what he's commonly credited. Greinke posted a similar ERA but has done it before and is older and more experienced. He also has a history with the Cardinals in the playoffs, having riled up Chris Carpenter while a member of the Brewers.

GAME 2/6 STARTER

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw vs. Cardinals' Michael Wacha

Wacha has had a legitimate chance at a no-hitter in each of his last two starts and is about as much of a lock to be a solid starter for a decade as any 22-year-old pitcher can be. But Kershaw is still Kershaw, and the best pitcher in baseball wins every matchup on paper. If Wacha can steal one of these matchups over the course of a long series, the Cardinals' chances to win go up significantly.

GAME 3/7 STARTER

Dodgers' Hyun-Jin Ryu or Ricky Nolasco vs. Cardinals' Adam Wainwright

This isn't close. Ryu had a great rookie season, but most of his value came from his ability to consistently throw six or seven innings of two-run ball. Wainwright has the ability to dominate opposing teams with regularity, as he just did to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a crucial Game 5. If this series gets to Game 7, it'll be very difficult not to pick the Cardinals on the strength of Wainwright.

GAME 4 STARTER

Ryu or Nolasco vs. Cardinals' Lance Lynn or Shelby Miller

Lynn isn't as his good as his 2013 win total would have you believe, but he's still probably a bit better than Nolasco, who struggled through September and won't have started a game in nearly three weeks by the time Game 4 comes around. If Miller gets the nod for this start, it'll give the Dodgers another look at the fireballing young right-hander who started off 2013 on fire. He was knocked out of his start against them in August when a Crawford liner hit him on his throwing elbow.

BENCH

St. Louis' weakness is its bench, with no proven pinch-hitters at the ready. Infielder Kolten Wong is going to be a good regular one day, but he's not a particular threat off the bench, and backup outfielders Adron Chambers and Shane Robinson hover around replacement level. The Dodgers have Michael Young as their top right-handed pinch-hitter, and likely Ethier for the first few games as a lefty threat. Either Scott Van Slyke or Dee Gordon will likely make the squad this time, with the Dodgers likely having to choose between Van Slyke's power and Gordon's speed.

BULLPEN

The teams' bullpen ERAs were nearly identical at 3.49 and 3.45. Both teams have dominant relief arms at the ready, but St. Louis probably has a few more, including Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez and Seth Maness – plus Edward Mujica, who was the Cardinals' dominant closer for much of the year before falling off late. That said, Kenley Jansen is the best reliever in the series by a considerable margin, and if Don Mattingly gives him the right assortment of high-leverage innings it could make a sizable difference.

MANAGER

Dodgers' Don Mattingly vs. Cardinals' Mike Matheny

If this were 1994, as Mattingly was finishing his playing career and Matheny beginning his, Mattingly would be the clear-cut winner as a better ballplayer. Even as far as likability goes, it's hard to beat Mattingly, who's the quintessential player's manager and almost universally well-liked. But as an in-game strategist, Matheny is the superior choice. Mattingly's poor Game 2 planning earned him a lot of criticism, but he's made several decisions like that this season – just not in as big a spot. He's overly reliant on the bunt, too, while Matheny has gone away from it this season. Mattingly often makes pitching decisions that are hard to explain, such as leaving Kershaw in for a seventh inning in Game 1 of the NLDS and then removing him before the seventh in Game 4 – in a much tighter game. Matheny consistently gives his starters the benefit of the doubt.

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